Grow Up!

In business, you have to be the grown up.

I think it's a shame that I have to tell you this, but recent events compel me me to.

Grow up!

If you're not grown up, at least pretend you are.

I recently have seen a situation where a manager for a company and a director for another part of the company are basically having a verbal war on the company message group.

How is that productive?

How do those messages help the rest of the people on that group?

It isn't, and they don't.

I've been working as an independent contractor with this company for over a year, and I have had no problems with them.

However, the manager involved just happens to be my manager, so I am concerned about my position in the company, and I'm more that a little concerned about the bad behavior of upper management.

I was also hoping to try some new things with the company, and now I'm afraid too.

I don't want to be associated with a company that will allow it's top people to treat other people like that.

There are some situations where it's good to discuss business problems out in the open, but it is never ok to publicly humiliate and degrade someone.

Even if the person who is being attacked doesn't mind, there are always other people looking, and do you really think that they would want to do business with a company that acts like a spoiled two year old throwing a tantrum in public?

I know I wouldn't.

Best Wishes For a Prosperous Business,

Sarah

Drive Traffic To Your Site With Blogrush

I've just signed up with Blogrush - you can see it at the bottom of the sidebar.

Pretty much, every time the Blogrush Widget loads on your page, you get a credit, and one of your posts is shown in another Blogrush Widget.

You also get credit for referrals as well.

They don't have quiet as many categories as I'd like - I'd love to tell the Beauty Blog Network about it, but they don't have a beauty category yet, and I can't figure out how to email them to ask them to add one. I've got it up on my other blogs as well, and I'll see how it works out.

Best Wishes For a Prosperous Business,

Sarah

Don't change your list midstream

People signed up for your list because they were interested in what you are promoting.

If you suddenly decide that instead of internet marketing you want to focus on a direct sales program get a new list for the direct sales program, or at least announce what you are doing on the list so the uninterested people can unsubscribe.

I've been on two mailing lists where the focus changed after several years.

When I signed up for one list I was interested in internet marketing, and all of a sudden I started getting 2-3 messages a week about telling me why I should use the products from the list owners new direct sales adventure.

That obviously wasn't what I was interested in, and it made me lose respect for the list owner.

It also made me think that if she was so desperate to make a few dollars that she would take her list that she worked so hard to grow for several years and turn it into a permanent direct sales list, then she wasn't doing very well at what she was teaching, so I probably shouldn't listen to her anymore.

People sign up for your list to listen to what you have to say about a particular subject.

If you change the focus of that subject they may be interested, or they may not be, but it will definitely change their view of you, and that won't be good.


Best Wishes For a Prosperous Business,

Sarah

Check your outgoing links!

Check your outgoing links.

I know it's a pain, but it has to be done.

People routinely don't renew domain names, and you never know what will go up after they give up their site...but your still linking to it.

I just got a trojan horse when I checked the link to the website of the person who designed Etailers Mall.

Can you imagine what would happen if that happened to your customers?

Best Wishes For a Prosperous Business,

Sarah

Thank you and other niceties

What two words will leave a lot of good feelings in the hearts of your customers, friends, family...pretty much anyone on earth as long as you say them sincerely?

Why is it so hard for people to say thank you?

If you're in business, your job is to make your customers happy.

You don't have to make your customers happy at the expense of your happiness, but you need to keep basic manners in mind when you are dealing with customers.

As a blogger and product reviewer, I deal with a lot of different etailers, and I have to say that the small business owners that include a personal note with their shipment to me make me feel all warm in fuzzy inside.

It doesn't even matter if it's a preprinted card with a handwritten signature, saying thank you, the fact that someone I don't know is doing something they don't have to to say how important I am to them means something to me.

If someone does something special for you, say thank you - even if you don't think it's all that special.

If someone mentions you on their blog, don't just say thank you in email, say thank you on their blog too.

That gets more exposure for you, and it makes people think that you are nice.

People are more likely to buy from you if they like you, and they're more likely to like you if they think you are nice.

Be nice.

Say thank you.

Best Wishes For a Prosperous Business,

Sarah